Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: Ron Boyd played in 35 games at Cushing Academy. He scored 2 goals with 13 assists and 35 PIM.

2009-10: Boyd scored 4 points with 18 assists for Cushing. He committed to attending Sacred Heart University in 2010-11.

2010-11: Boyd began the season as a freshman at Sacred Heart (Atlantic Hockey) but left school after fifteen games to play junior hockey in the USHL. Boyd had 1 goal with 3 assists and was -5 with 16 PMs while playing for Sacred Heart. Boyd finished the season with the Chicago Steel and scored 2 goals and was -26 with 42 PMs in 33 games. He was traded to the Indiana Ice for the 2011-12 season and is committed to playing college hockey at Michigan State in 2012-13.

2011-12: Acquired by the Indiana Ice from the Steel in a May 2011 USHL trade, Boyd joined Indiana as a 20-year-old. He skated in 50 games and led all Ice defensemen with 93 penalty minutes; finishing plus-nine with 1 goal and 13 assists. Indiana finished second in the Eastern Conference and reached the conference finals against eventual Clark Cup champion Green Bay. Boyd had 2 assists and was plus-one with 10 penalty minutes in six playoff games. He committed to playing college hockey at Michigan State in 2012-13.

2012-13: Boyd returned to college hockey, skating in 42 games for Michigan State as a sophomore. Teamed primarily with junior Nickolas Gatt, a transfer from Alabama-Huntsville, on the Spartans third pairing, he scored 2 goals with 9 assists and was -9 with 20 penalty minutes. The Spartans finished last in the CCHA in the final year of the conference but took league regular season champion Miami to three games in a conference quarterfinal series after defeating Alaska in the first round.

2013-14: Boyd played well for Michigan State when paired with talented sophomore Travis Walsh in his junior season. In 34 games with the Spartans he scored 1 goal with 6 assists and was -3 with 18 penalty minutes. Michigan State finished fifth in the six-team Big Ten hockey conference in the league’s inaugural season; falling to fourth-place Ohio State, 2-1 in overtime, in the conference tournament quarterfinals.

Talent Analysis

Boyd skates well with the puck and likes to jump into the attack. He has continued to refine his defensive game during his college career at Michigan State and is rounding into a defenseman who can be effective in all situations.

Future

Boyd is in his senior season at Michigan State in 2014-15 and has developed into a quality NCAA defensemen after a circuitous college career interrupted by a year in the USHL. A Florida native who was a sentimental favorite when he was selected by the Panthers in the final round of the 2010 NHL Draft, he has limited upside but his progress to this point suggests he can be a serviceable defensive defender one day. He will likely need a couple of years of development at the minor pro level to reach the point.

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